Young Gators hit way past Wayne Christian

With every run youth-laden Spring Creek scores it continues to grow in confidence.

The Gators jumped on Wayne Christian early and rolled to a 13-1, non-conference road win in five innings on Monday afternoon.

Duane Gurganus' two-run double in the top of the first gave Spring Creek an early lead. Hunter Barnett's two-run single and Dontay Boseman's RBI groundout extended the lead to 5-0 in the top of the second inning.

Despite having 10 freshmen and sophomores on their roster, the Gators stayed aggressive at the plate against Eagles' hurler Stephen Gallagher.

"I just think this helps our confidence a lot because I thought scoring runs was going to be a big challenge for us," said Spring Creek head coach Heath Whitfield. "Being able to do that the last two games I hope has gotten that confidence level up a little bit because we've hit the balls hard and done some good things on the bases."

Wayne Christian (3-1 overall) got on the board when Travis Thomas scored on an error in the home half of the third inning.

Barnett added an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth and finished 3 for 4 with four RBI. Gurganus' two-run double increased the margin to 9-1.

Ethan Potter provided an RBI single in the top of the fifth. Barnett lined an RBI double and Boseman's two-run single capped the scoring. Boseman (3 RBI), Gurganus (2 RBI) and Chris Boseman each had two hits.

"We've been preaching and preaching about staying back," said Whitfield. "Everybody wants to get out in front on that front foot and we did a pretty good job of that today. We hit a lot of balls to right field and right-center field."

Gurganus (2-0) earned the win on the mound, allowing one unearned run on one hit with three strikeouts and a walk over three innings of work. Barnett tossed two scoreless innings of relief.

"We had Duane on a pitch count and we wanted him to throw about 40 pitches and maybe bring him back on Friday," said Whitfield. "Duane was sharp and threw strikes and Hunter came in and threw the ball real well."

Travis Thomas and Ryan Cooke collected the Eagles only two hits.

"This is a great lesson for us," said Wayne Christian coach Greg Johnson. "We're still ranked in the state, and that's why I wanted a tough schedule so we can gauge where we are and work on the little things."

The Gators (2-1) travel to North Lenoir today, while the Eagles play host to Faith Christian of Rocky Mount.